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Cold snap fuels oil rally
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December 27, 2000: 7:35 a.m. ET
Crude futures rise as cold weather blows across U.S., traders eye OPEC cut
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Oil prices rose Wednesday as traders eyed increased demand amid cold weather in the U.S. and an anticipated production cut by OPEC next month.
Brent crude futures for February delivery gained 62 cents to $24.28 a barrel in late morning London trade on the International Petroleum Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $25.10.
 Frigid temperatures in the key Northeast region and an Arctic blast across the U.S. Midwest in part supported oil product prices in the face of a recent sell-off in crude, sparked by growing oil inventories and talk of upcoming production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OPEC's target range for its basket of crudes is between $22 and $28 a barrel.
The cold weather is expected to spread across the Atlantic to hit many parts of Europe this week.
Charlie Sharp, oil analyst at Canaccord Capital Europe Ltd., told CNNfn.com that the recent sell-off may have been overdone and that there was also some preliminary talk of supply cuts at OPEC's Jan. 17 meeting. Sharp said that Wednesday's rise may partially be a counter-reaction to oil's recent fall.
"It's still pretty volatile within each day. I'm still expecting an average of $24 for Brent next year," he said.
With many traders still away for the Christmas holidays, the day's move may not "be a true reflection of what the market will do when everyone comes back in January," he cautioned.
--from staff and wire reports 
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